New Exhibition: Science on a Sphere

Science on a Sphere is Science Central’s first new major exhibition since 1995. But don’t worry, none of your Science Central favorites are going away—the museum is opening up more space in the building for this exciting exhibition.
The display was created by researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to help display and visualize data; however, it quickly became clear to the researchers that Science on a Sphere was a great tool for science museums around the world. This exhibition will be the first of its kind in Indiana, and one of only eighty in the world.
Science on a Sphere works like this: four high-definition projectors in each corner of the room display images onto a suspended fiberglass sphere. The projectors show series of images, called data sets, from Earth or another planet or moon. The data sets can be historical information, like how the continents have moved over time, or can be more current, like where the clouds are in the sky today. Visitors move through a darkened room to view the projections on the sphere.
The educator leading the session will make a list of the datasets to be shown to the audience. This process is much like making a playlist of music—you decide ahead of time what you are going to play and choose the order. Educators at Science Central will then be able to use different datasets to make different kinds of presentations to visitors.
Science on a Sphere will open later this summer. For more information and to hear Science Central’s Executive Director Martin Fisher explain more, check out this video.

Author: Molly Z.

Molly Zweig is a student at Indiana University Bloomington majoring in International Studies, Spanish, and Portuguese. Molly enjoys spending time with her friends and family, cooking, and traveling.